According to reports in the Leicester Mercury, Chelsea have made an enquiry to sign out of favour Leicester City striker Islam Slimani as Antonio Conte’s search for a new target man continues.

The Italian boss is keen to bring in a big centre-forward to compete with Alvaro Morata in the second-half of the campaign, and the Algeria international is the latest in a long line of names that have been linked with a move to the Premier League holders before the January transfer window slams shut.

The Leicester Mercury says that it is likely that the 29-year-old, who has scored 26 goals in 55 caps for his country, will move on from the King Power Stadium before next Wednesday having found first-team starts hard to come by under Foxes boss Claude Puel, and ever since his £29m move from Sporting Lisbon in 2016.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United made their first addition of the month when they signed Chelsea winger Kenedy on loan until the end of the season on Tuesday, but manager Rafa Benitez will hope that his business isn’t finished there with his team currently just one point above the relegation zone and three points off the bottom.

The Spaniard will be especially keen to boost his goal-shy attack, and bringing Slimani to St James’ Park could prove to be a shrewd move.

Here are three reasons Newcastle must hijack Chelsea’s bid to sign the striker…